


sweet as can be

by saxonavenue



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romance, cafe date, they're in love and on a date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29426961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saxonavenue/pseuds/saxonavenue
Summary: Nozomi glanced back at her girlfriend, a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes, as she continued to walk forward towards their destination. Eli shook her head, knowing she should’ve expected the silly surprise that Nozomi had planned for their date. It had been a while since they had gone out on an actual date (if you didn’t count frequent dinner dates at their separate residents – Nico hadn’t). It was nice to see her so excited.
Relationships: Ayase Eli/Toujou Nozomi
Kudos: 15





	sweet as can be

**Author's Note:**

> some nozoeli being in love and going on a cute cafe date for valentine's day~ this was inspired by the side story from nozomi's festival UR! hope you enjoy it!

“So, are you gonna tell me where we’re going on our date?” Eli asked, gently tugging on Nozomi’s arm.

Turning around and smiling at her girlfriend, Nozomi made a motion of zipping her lips and throwing away the key. Eli sighed in response as Nozomi winked at her and squeezed her hand.

“Okay, am I allowed to guess, then?” Eli asked.

Nozomi glanced back at her girlfriend, a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes, as she continued to walk towards their destination. Eli shook her head, knowing she should’ve expected the silly surprise that Nozomi had planned for their date. It had been a while since they had gone out on an actual date (if you didn’t count frequent dinner dates at their separate residences – Nico hadn’t). It was nice to see her so excited. Eli knew that she had been conspiring about the date place with Nico and Emma from Nijigasaki High, but beyond that, she didn’t know anything.

“I’m taking that as a yes. Is it a diner? The one that Honoka recommended?” Eli asked.

Nozomi squeezed her hand twice in response, continuing to face forward.

“…Okay, so no?”

Another two squeezes.

“No diner got it. Ramen? The one that Hanayo and Rin recommended?”

Another two squeezes.

The two girls stopped at a crosswalk, watching as cars drove past them. Sneaking a look at her girlfriend, Eli made eye contact with Nozomi as she did the same, a small smirk on her lips. Eli had been blown away by Nozomi when she came to pick her up for their date. Sure, she had seen Nozomi with her hair down and in casual clothes plenty of times, however, it still did nothing to help her poor heart. And this time was no different as Nozomi was the picture-perfect vision of soft with her white shoulder-less blouse and purple skirt, the wind picking up her hair and making it cascade around her.

Eli had grabbed a pair of her most comfortable jeans, a black blouse, a jean jacket and called it a day. Looking at Nozomi’s outfit once more as they dropped eye contact, Eli still felt like she was underdressed.

“So, no ramen then? Got it…. What about that French-style café that Maki recommended?” Eli asked again.

Three squeezes this time, she must be getting closer.

Seeing the crosswalk change, the girls continued on their way. Even though the three-hand squeezes confirmed a close guess, Eli was stumped. She wasn’t sure if the yes was for the location or the style of the food. Despite this, she was still expecting a restaurant, considering Nico’s (albeit hypocritical) complaints about their usual places. Eli had always thought that the place never mattered, instead it was the person she spent time with. 

As long as she could spend time with Nozomi, it never mattered to her where they spent it. (Nico ranted and raved about how at least some dates should be extravagant and special, something ironically enough Maki didn’t fully agree as long as she could spend time with the other girl).

Giving Nozomi a single squeeze back, Eli continued to guess their date location, getting closer and closer, but still missing the mark. After a while, she let her guesses get a little weird, which received a laugh and a no in response from the other girl. It wasn’t long until Eli found herself completely out of guesses. She watched as sometimes Nozomi’s eyes would sparkle with barely contained glee when Eli seemed to get closer and shine with hidden mischief when Eli would miss completely. 

“Okay, I’m stumped. So where…?” Eli asked, cutting herself off as Nozomi stopped in front of a small café.

“Here we are!” Nozomi announced, letting go of her girlfriend’s hand to open her arms and stand in front of their date spot; her face breaking out in a huge smile.

“A simple café?” Eli asked.

Shaking her head, Nozomi offered her hand out. “Ah, it is so much more than a simple café, dearest Eli-chi.”

Smiling at Nozomi, she followed the violette inside the café. Opening the door, Eli was hit with sweet and savory scents: the smell of freshly baked cinnamon bread and warmed up sausage sandwiches were heavy in the air. With recently ground coffee grinds and the ripe scent of strawberries creating a symphony of flavors for Eli’s nose. She could see Nozomi brighten up as she watched the employees make crepes and parfaits. The quiet buzz of conversation paired with the loud noise of the blenders wrapped around Eli like a warm blanket, Nozomi’s hand in hers solidifying the feeling.

Nozomi led the way to the hostess table and asked for a table for two, outside. Following the hostess, as she led the two towards the patio, Eli continued to look around the café. On the walls were pictures of nature, Eli recognized some national parks from around Japan, but others she couldn’t place. One had a picture of a lush forest, the angle of the picture tilted up to show the canopy of trees above. Another had a picture of an ocean, with the waves rolling in and over the camera.

Just next to these pictures sat awards that were won by the café, ranging from the most populated café in Akihabara 5 years in a row to the best dango of 2018. As they made their way outside, Eli also noticed how fancy this small café was and felt slightly intimidated. She and Nozomi were used to more holes in the wall or homey places, similar to Honoka’s mother’s bakery and the diner that μ’s frequented. But the café was packed wall to wall with nice furniture – from decorative chairs and singular tables to busy booths and wood-fired dining tables to the bar with the classy bar stools – everything felt luxurious.

Tugging on Nozomi’s hand, Eli looked from her girlfriend to their hostess. The violette turned to look at her, her eyebrows drawing together. Eli’s eyes darted around the café, growing in sizes as a grimace worked its way onto her lips. Nozomi gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand as she looked towards their hostess who was holding the door to the outside portion of the café open, an inviting smile on her lips.

The two girls followed her outside and were sat closer to the street. Putting their menus in front of them, the hostess who their waitress was, that she’d be with them in a moment, and to enjoy their food. 

Putting her hand on the table, Nozomi made grabby hands at Eli, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. Eli sighed to herself, a fond smile on her lips as she grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and squeezed. Giving a smile back to her, Nozomi then looked down at her menu. 

Eli echoed her, seeing dessert after dessert on the menu. Things from French-styled macarons to muffins to pies to savory crepes. Despite the menu being small, the entire thing was covered top to bottom with delicacies.

“This is daunting,” Eli mumbled out, flipping over the menu and seeing just as long a drink menu.

“Aww, is Eli-chi nervous?” Nozomi asked, putting her chin in her free hand as she squeezed the blonde’s hand.

Sticking her tongue out, Eli looked back down at the menu. She figured she would start with a drink, as this side of the menu seemed less overwhelming. At the top sat the simpler options, like soda, coffee, tea, and juices. 

Under the simpler choices, sat a list of expanded choices of the simpler ones. Coffee was the first with options that ranged from iced to hot; things like cold brews, frappes, hot chocolates, and a toasted white. The tea was much the same, but with the added selection of boba. 

Along with coffees and teas, there was also a plethora of smoothie and milkshake options. Eli was just looking at these options when Nozomi’s hand covered her menu. Looking up at her, Eli’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion, she gave her a single shake of her head.

“I think you would like the Strawberry Milk Tea,” Nozomi states.

Eli sighs and hands Nozomi her menu as she squeezes her hand. “Thank you. There are just so many options.”

Nozomi smiles. “I figured. You looked all bug-eyed, darting from option to option, very cute Eli-chi~”

Feeling a flush coming on, Eli puts a hand in front of her face. Nozomi still manages to fluster her, even after the last two years of dating. A simple look following a little hearted teasing and Eli’s blossomed like a rose, becoming putty in Nozomi’s hands. She loved how comfortable it felt around Nozomi, and how easy it was for the violette to poke fun at her. Even though Nozomi had a better advantage than she did. 

Nozomi giggles and squeezes her hand. Moving her hand away from her face, the violette gives her a small smile and then points down to the menus.

“Also, they have a seasonal parfait for their special of the day that I thought we could share,” Nozomi states, giving her a wink.

The blush worsens as their waitress comes to their table and takes their order.

One Strawberry Milk Tea for Eli, one Taro Milk Tea for Nozomi, and a Seasonal Parfait, two spoons, please.

After their waitress leaves, Nozomi lets go of Eli’s hand and moves to grab her phone. Distantly, Eli could recall promising Nico pictures of their date spot – a confirmation that it wasn’t just Nozomi’s living room or Eli’s bedroom – so she could “properly assess the location”, even though Nico should know that neither herself nor Nozomi was going to send her a good enough picture to get the coveted Nico seal of approval.

Eli knew that Nico only wanted pics and details of the location for a possible date spot with Maki, something that Nico would never admit to. Eli knew that Nico always tries to take Maki to different locations for their dates, with a new location being thrown in haphazardly. She still kind of wishes that she had more dedication to their dates, but Nozomi had never complained about a night in so if it’s not broken, right?

Feeling a tap on her hand, Eli turns towards Nozomi, seeing her phone turned towards her.

On her phone is a picture of Honoka, Umi, and Kotori – more accurately a blurry “picture” of Kotori, Umi, and Honoka’s forehead. From the looks of it, the three girls are at Honoka’s mother’s bakery with the aforementioned mother just slightly in the background of the photo.

“Cute,” Eli states, smiling.

Nozomi giggles, a smirk finding its home on her lips. “Honoka has such a talent for blurry photos. She also sent me a better one – one I’m assuming her mother took, but I like the first one a little better.”

Eli hums, hoping that her girlfriend will show her the other photo. “How do you know her mother took it?”

Nozomi nods her head a few times as she moves her phone away from Eli and clicks on the screen a few times. She, then, shows Eli the screen once more.

This time the picture isn’t blurry, and it also wasn’t taken in selfie mode. Honoka sits in the middle of the other two seconds years, her arms around both girls and a smile that could rival the sun on her face. Kotori is giggling, throwing up a peace sign as Umi sits with a wobbly, nervous smile and a dark blush high on her cheeks

“Ah, I see. I’d have to disagree with you Nozomi, I think the second photo is better.”

A singular gasp leaves Nozomi’s mouth as her hand moves in front of it and her eyes grow in size. Her lips quirking up at the sides is the only thing giving her away. 

“Betrayal, Eli-chi! Honoka’s selfie had a distinct quality to it!”

Eli chuckles. “Yes, a messy one.”

Giving another gasp in response, no longer hiding the smile that’s peaking at the corner of her lip, Nozomi moves her hand and locks her phone. Eli gives her a smile in response just as the waitress sets the parfait and their drinks on the table.

“Enjoy!”

The two girls nod in response, grabbing the spoons that sit on the plate with the delicate parfait.

“Wow, I didn’t think seasonal referred to the fruit within it,” Eli states.

Nozomi nods. “According to their website, they get a shipment of fruit and then wait until it’s perfectly ripe.”

The parfait is beautiful. On the bottom sits matcha flavored ice cream, the middle flavor a vanilla whipped cream with kiwis and strawberries pressed along the inside of the glass, with an array of cut-up mandarin oranges, kiwis, strawberries, and yuzus. On top of the different fruits sits a single mint leaf, a single cherry blossom, more of the whipped cream but pipped out, and two delicately shaped chocolate leaves.

“They sound so particular about their dishes,” Eli states, watching as Nozomi goes to take a bite.

“Wait! Nico wanted a picture.”

Giving her a nod, Nozomi takes her spoon away and grabs for her phone. She hands it over to Eli and pushes the parfait closer to the blonde. Eli takes the phone from Nozomi’s grasp and moves to her camera app. Sliding her chair back a bit to get a better angle of the parfait, Eli focuses on trying to get a clear picture of their dessert.

She takes a few pictures before feeling a gentle hand on her own. Looking up from Nozomi’s phone, the girl in question raises her eyebrows and tilts her head, a small smile on her lips.

“Wouldn’t you get a better picture from over here?” She asks, moving Eli’s hand slightly more to the right.

Eli nods in response and looks down to the phone once more to take a few more pictures. Taking Nozomi’s advice a little further, Eli proceeds to move her body more to the left, her eyes glued to the phone screen as she takes picture after picture.

“I can’t believe how photogenic this parfait is,” Eli states, a giggle lacing its way through her voice.

Nozomi huffs in response. “I feel like you’re missing something else, Eli-chi.”

“Huh?”

Looking up from Nozomi’s phone, Eli sees said girl’s finger in front of her face. Feeling a soft pressure and a cool feeling graze her nose, Eli looks from Nozomi to the parfait. The violette has a gentle smile on her face, her lips just turned up at the corners as she sits with her cheek in her left hand looking at Eli.

“It’s cute to see you all focused about getting a good angle, Eli-chi~” Nozomi states, moving her finger away from Eli’s face and licking the whipped cream off of it.

Feeling her cheeks heat, Eli moves the phone up and takes a picture of Nozomi – the parfait just a small thought in the corner of the photo. She looks from Nozomi to the picture and sees how soft her girlfriend looks; a pleased but tiny smile on her lips, her eyes shining with uncontained fondness, and her hair flowing slightly with the breeze.

“I see, you just wanted to take the parfait’s spotlight,” Eli responds, handing Nozomi her phone back.

She chuckles in response, taking her phone from Eli’s grasp. “You caught me. I just wanted the attention of the girl behind the camera.”

Eli could feel her cheeks growing warmer, the blush moving from the apples of her cheeks to the top of her ears and the tip of her nose. Grabbing her spoon once more, Eli dives into the parfait, taking a little bit of the whipped cream, kiwis, and mandarin oranges.

“You’re adorable when you’re flustered, Eli,” Nozomi gushed.

Wondering if her face could get any redder (it does), Eli puffs out her cheeks in response, wishing she could stick her tongue out instead. Nozomi laughs in response, the sound gooey and warm.

“We should send the pictures to Nico – ah actually to all of μ's,” Nozomi conversed, following Eli’s lead and digging into their parfait.

“Agreed, especially the one I took of you,” Eli responds, watching as for the first time today Nozomi’s cheeks bloom like a rose.

Eli giggles at Nozomi’s blush, glowing in the fact that it continues to get redder as Nozomi looks from Eli to her phone and back again. It wasn’t like Eli was incapable of making Nozomi blush - at catching the violette off guard enough for her cheeks to glow red - but it always felt like a gift to see. She knew that she was looking at the photo, seeing how delicate and comfortable she looked in the moment; something that Eli wasn’t willing to let pass, something Eli wanted to continue to look at after today.

“Before I forget, could you send me that picture?” Eli asks, taking another swipe at their parfait.

Eli’s giddiness grows, watching as the blush doesn’t budge. Nozomi nods in response, letting out a little huff. The moment lapses into silence as Nozomi messes with her phone – probably sending a few pics of their parfait and the picture of herself to the group and Eli, grabbing her Taro Milk Tea and taking a drink. Eli is reminded of her drink and follows suit.

_Huh, Nozomi was right. The strawberry milk tea was really good._

She gives Eli a quirk of her eyebrow and Eli nods in response, taking another sip of her drink.

“You can tell how much the photographer loves the subject here,” Nozomi hummed, her lips around the straw in her milk tea.

Eli could feel the blush growing on her face before she saw the confirmation on Nozomi’s. _Checkmate, Eli-chi!_ The resounding smile on Nozomi’s face seemed to say.

“As it should, since the photographer does love the subject,” Eli quips back.

Nozomi’s eyes dart to Eli’s, her pupils growing in size as the blush on her face stubbornly keeps its place. She watches as her girlfriend opens and closes her mouth a few times, before taking a sip of the taro milk tea and then repeating the motions. She wonders if that was too much, they hadn’t _officially_ said anything but if how μ's treated them and their lovey-dovey antics, Eli knew as much.

“Ah, I didn’t me-“

“I love you too, Eli,” Nozomi interrupts, taking Eli’s hand in her own and bringing it to her lips.

Eli feels her lips stretch in the biggest smile she’s given today. “I love you, Nozomi.”

The violette gives her a big smile in response, her eyes shining with uncontained affection, tenderness, and love. She squeezes her hand as she takes the spoon in her unoccupied one, once again diving into their parfait. Eli gives her a small smile in response and squeezes back, mimicking Nozomi, as the two of the girls finish their parfait and milk teas.

Perhaps, Nico was correct. Sometimes dates outside of their respective houses could be special.


End file.
